Immersive Training Guide

VR and simulation training for the military, government, healthcare and business

USC Institute for Creative Technologies

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USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) is a University of Southern California research institute, founded in 1999, that serves as a U.S. Army-sponsored University Affiliated Research Center and builds simulation, virtual human and AI-based training prototypes for the Department of Defense.

Websitehttps://ict.usc.edu/
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Founded1999
OwnershipUniversity of Southern California
In this guideSuicide prevention and SAPR; Leadership, safe AI use and cybersecurity

This profile uses the same fields and length limits as every other provider in the guide, drawn from USC Institute for Creative Technologies’s own materials and public records.

Suicide prevention and SAPR

Products named: ELITE SHARP CTT; ELITE SHARP POST; ELITE SHARP BRAVE

What they offerUSC ICT's ELITE platform gives Army personnel SHARP practice with virtual human role-players: ELITE SHARP CTT trains command teams, ELITE SHARP POST trains SARCs and victim advocates on prevention and outreach, and ELITE SHARP BRAVE teaches junior leaders to intervene as bystanders.
Who they serveUSC ICT built the ELITE SHARP tools with the Army SHARP Program Management Office and SHARP Academy for Army command teams, junior leaders, Soldiers, Army civilians and SHARP professionals.
How it is deliveredUSC ICT says ELITE runs on digital devices, in a classroom or as an online web application; Army and ICT releases describe the 2018 SHARP modules as laptop applications.
VR headset: not published; Desktop or browser: yes; Mobile: not published; Offline: not published; Classified: not published
Assessment and analyticsUSC ICT says ELITE tracks learner data in real time for structured feedback in an instructor-facilitated or self-guided after action review; ICT reports an Army Research Institute validation of ELITE SHARP CTT in 2017.
AI featuresUSC ICT says ELITE draws on its virtual human and intelligent tutoring research and lists natural language understanding as future work; its DS2A prototype let learners question a real survivor's digital double by voice.
Notable public programs and contractsUSC ICT and the Army released ELITE SHARP CTT in 2016 and ELITE SHARP BRAVE in 2018; Army Regulation 600-52 (2025) lists the ELITE CTT, BRAVE and POST modules; the SHARP Academy used ICT's DS2A prototype in its SARC and victim advocate course by 2019.
How to buyUSC ICT does not list a contract vehicle; it is a U.S. Army-sponsored University Affiliated Research Center, and Army users get ELITE SHARP modules through Army web portals.

Compare with other providers of suicide prevention and SAPR

Leadership, safe AI use and cybersecurity

Products named: ELITE (Emergent Leader Immersive Training Environment); ELITE COUNSELING

What they offerUSC ICT's ELITE platform lets leaders practice interpersonal skills with virtual human role-players; its ELITE COUNSELING version teaches junior leaders basic counseling based on Army leadership doctrine (FM 6-22, Appendix B), with structured feedback after each interaction.
Who they serveUSC ICT built ELITE for U.S. Army junior leaders and command teams; it says more than 2,000 Soldiers and Civilians have earned training certifications through ELITE-WEB since December 2022.
How it is deliveredUSC ICT says ELITE runs on digital devices in instructor-led classrooms or through the ELITE-WEB online application; optimizing it for mobile is listed as a next step.
VR headset: not published; Desktop or browser: yes; Mobile: not published; Offline: not published; Classified: not published
Assessment and analyticsUSC ICT says ELITE gives structured feedback from real-time data tracking, with instructor-led or self-guided after-action reviews, and that the Army Research Institute validated its SHARP command-team version in 2017.
AI featuresUSC ICT says ELITE builds on its virtual human and intelligent tutoring research and lists natural language understanding and automated content generation as future research tracks.
Notable public programs and contractsUSAspending lists a 2020-2022 Department of the Air Force contract with USC for ELITE Counseling software program development and a 2025 Army task order on evaluating leadership thinking with large language models; USC ICT lists ELITE among research outcomes that became DoD programs of record.
How to buyUSC ICT says its primary funding is a U.S. Army contract; USAspending shows Army task orders under a university-affiliated research contract and a separate 2020 Air Force contract.

Compare with other providers of leadership, safe AI use and cybersecurity

Sources

  1. About Us - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  2. USC Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  3. Contact Us - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  4. ELITE: Emergent Leader Immersive Training Environment - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  5. Army to debut new game-based SHARP training tool developed by ICT - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies, March 31, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  6. ELITE-SHARP Prevention and Outreach Simulation Trainer - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies, January 4, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  7. DVIDS - News - Army launches new SHARP training tools. DVIDS (U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory), March 5, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  8. Army Launches New SHARP Training Tools - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies, March 5, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  9. Virtual Technology Allows SHARP Academy Students Opportunity to Interview Survivor - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies, October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  10. Survivor's digital double helps train SARCS, victim advocates at SHARP Academy. U.S. Army (Army News Service), July 31, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  11. Army Regulation 600-52: Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program. Headquarters, Department of the Army (Army Publishing Directorate), February 11, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  12. USAspending.gov award summary: FA330020C0063 (University of Southern California, Department of the Air Force). USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury). Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  13. USAspending.gov award summary: W912CG25FA011 (University of Southern California, Department of the Army). USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury). Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  14. Sponsorship - Institute for Creative Technologies. USC Institute for Creative Technologies. Retrieved October 21, 2026.